“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” – Frank A. Clark

People keep saying, ‘Times are tough right now.’ And, in all honesty, many of us believe it. If you watch the news we’re constantly being bombarded about how poor the economy is, we’re at the highest unemployment level in history, blah blah blah. It’s hard to be grateful when we aren’t seeing the abundance around us. How can we be grateful when you just lost your job, or took a pay cut, the bills are piling up and the kids are always sick? How can you be grateful when you’re single and feel all alone, bills are hardly getting paid, and your income is not as high as you were believing it to be by this time. What is there to really be grateful for?

Here’s the deal. There is abundance all around us. There are always things to be grateful for. When we can shift our perspective just a little bit and look at all the abundance in another person or situation, the energy shifts around us and creates this bubble of automatic happiness. When I lost my job a couple of years ago I did fight to get it back. But at the same time I was asking myself “What’s the opportunity here? What can I learn from this experience?” My answer came to me rather quickly and what I heard was that I can now learn about what I really love to do and work with animals. I can work on getting my own business off the ground and live my passion. The kicker was I thought I was already doing that. I loved music and teaching children. I never really felt like it was a job to me. It was a bonus that I was paid for something I already loved to do. Now I’m doing something I never thought I’d be doing in a million years. I’m a business owner and my business is thriving. Yes – thriving – in this economy. It’s not about the economy, it’s about my attitude about what I do and focusing my energy on the positives. If I’m not thankful for what I have now, I’m going to continue to get those things.

To see the abundance in any situation takes work and it takes effort. It’s kind of like that Pollyanna type of thinking. It doesn’t necessarily even seem natural at first. But, as we start focusing on what’s good rather than what’s bad, it becomes second nature. And, as we start to focus on the good, more good starts coming to us. It’s like a magnet. The cool thing is that it will also start coming faster and more frequently. If you have a hard time saying “I’m grateful now for………” then I’m sure you can at least say “I appreciate __________” and “I’m in the process of becoming _________” I personally like to say ‘I’m in the process of becoming a successful and independent business owner.’ I’m not there yet, but I’m in the process of getting there. My subconscious can believe those words and I don’t feel like I’m lying to myself. When I say the words “I am happy and grateful now that I am a successful and independent business owner” I tend to cringe just a little bit inside. That’s what my subconscious reads and that’s what’s going to come back at me. It’s not always the words. It has to be the feelings behind the words.

If you don’t truly believe what you’re saying, it will be harder to manifest. The universe doesn’t distinguish between the ‘not’s’ and the ‘don’t’s’ and the negatives. It goes with the feelings and the major words being said. It has be in said in what you want. But, I digress. Next week I will talk more about the how’s of manifesting. For now, your first step is to just be grateful or appreciative for what you already have. Appreciate you have the computer access to even read this blog. Appreciate the gas you have in the car to get you from point A to point B. Or appreciate you have the money to use the bus if you don’t have a car. Even just appreciating having shoes on your feet, clothes in your closet and food in your freezer/cupboard/or fridge at this very moment in time can make a huge difference in your day. If you are someone who struggled with losing their job, perhaps it’s time to appreciate the time you now have to find what you really want to do with your life. If the bills are piling up perhaps it’s time to appreciate your negotiating skills by calling those places and talking to them. Or maybe it’s about having to face a fear of talking to the places you owe money and just being open with the situation. That’s an opportunity. I will sometimes get to the point where I just appreciate the green light at an intersection if that’s what I can find to appreciate (Or the red light that lets me open my bottle of water while not driving). You can find something to appreciate in every given moment. Then, as you find more things to appreciate, more things will come into your life to have appreciation for.

A sloth in the zoo told me “I may be slow but I also don’t miss anything. You people run around thinking you have so much to do and you don’t. You miss out on the good in life. Stop and take a look around you. What do you see?” She’s right.

I’m going to give a small assignment if you’re willing to take it. For the next week I am going to invite you to list a minimum of 10 things at night that you are appreciative of in that moment in time. Even if all you can come up with is you have a bed to sleep in or blankets on your bed to keep you warm, it is something. Then I want you to notice as the week goes on how much longer your list gets and how you are better able to find those things that you appreciate in your life. Do you see a change?

– written by Kristen Scanlon (Certified BodyTalk Practitioner & Animal Communicator), owner of Talk Pawsitive, LLC and co-owner of The Healing Loft, LLC in Minneapolis, MN. You can reach her at healing@thehealingloftmpls.com or by calling The Healing Loft, LLC at (612)208-1408.